Maya Wood
by The Hogwarts Society
Summary: Maya Wood is in her sixth year at Hogwarts. She plays seeker for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and has stupendous marks, but her mother was born into the wrong century and is sure that no man with money will ever want to marry her because of her brains. by Amara
1. Chapter 1

This is one in a series of books all taking place at the same time but from different POV's.

Disclaimer: Obviously not JKR.

* * *

Two weeks before the start of term I received my Hogwarts letter. I also received my OWLS. Normal parents are happy when their children receive all O's except for one. Unfortunately I was stuck with the psychotic ones. My dad congratulated me, but Mum was a nightmare.

"It's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend."

"It's probably that Lucas girl rubbing off on you."

"Why can't you make more friends and be more like Mari?"

Mari was the perfect one. At least in my mother's eyes because she was stupid enough not to realize what was really going on. Yes, Mari had an amazing boyfriend (maybe I was a tad bit jealous) but she had a hell of a lot more problems than making friends.

She wasn't eating, and nothing I could do made any difference. To top things off when I mentioned it to Mum she said, "Oh, don't worry. Your sister could stand to lose some weight."

Too bad I wasn't allowed to perform magic outside of school. I would've relished the sight of her hair puke green colored.

I also received a letter from Logan, asking if I wanted to go to Diagon Alley with him. I really wished I could have skipped out on the society gala, but Mum would kill me. Plus Mari would've demanded to come, and well, she and boys... It just wouldn't have ended very well.

"Maya!" Mari stormed into my room. "Mum says you need to get ready to go for a dress fitting."

"Why can't I just wear one of the twenty other dresses I already have?" I moaned, lying back onto my bed.

She shrugged, twirling her pink streaked brown hair on her index finger. "Mum likes to spend Dad's money."

"We should do something worthwhile," I said, but she had already disappeared out the door.

I heard her yell, "Maya's getting ready!"

The society gala was just two days after that, and it was pretty interesting. I tried to blend in with the wall, which was pretty impressive since Mum made me wear an offensively bright pink dress. "It brings out the color in your eyes, dear," she had said, which made absolutely no sense since my eyes were brown. My hair was brown. My skin was barely darker than pale. If anything the pink would bring out the streaks in Mari's hair, but no, Mari got to pick her own dress.

"Thank goodness that nerdy friend of yours is such a shame to the family that she can't show her face at one of these," Mum said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I glared at her. "There's nothing wrong with her."

"Sure, dear. Whatever you say." She patted my shoulder absentmindedly. I couldn't stand her anymore and strode away without an explanation. Even with my back turned I could feel her razor sharp gaze on my back from her ice blue eyes.

"Hi, Maya." It was Jeremy Cook, a Ravenclaw in the year above me. His light brown bangs were flipped slightly to the side and those brown eyes sparkled. I knew Terra Finch was completely in love with him, and in that moment I could see why.

I smiled. "Hi, Jeremy. How's things?"

He shrugged. "I was made Head Boy."

"Wow. Congratulations. Who's Head Girl?" For some reason I didn't want this conversation to become awkward. Usually I didn't care much, but I had to keep it running.

"No idea. My letter didn't say."

Someone slid in next to me, wearing a far shorter dress. "So who is flirting with my sister now?" she asked, handing me a drink.

"Mari, we can't drink. We're not of age."

"Like Mum cares, and wait, since when have you cared?" she asked, essentially blocking Jeremy from the conversation.

I rolled my eyes. "Since we were in a room full of ministry wizards and adults."

"Oh. Hi, Cook. Would you like a drink?" She offered him the glass of firewhiskey. "He's of age," she pointed out to me.

"Yes, I know." He accepted the glass graciously, if not awkwardly.

"So any cute guys, you're checking out, Maya?" she asked, again forgetting completely about Jeremy standing beside us.

I laughed. "Yeah, definitely all those Slytherins."

"Mmm," she mused. "You know, Griffin Flint is looking pretty fine."

"Ew. Mari, tell me you didn't just say that. You have a boyfriend." In the midst of this conversation, Jeremy slipped away, muttering something about going to see someone.

She shrugged. "Doesn't mean I can't enjoy the sights, yeah?"

"I hate these things," I grumbled, walking toward the buffet tables, hoping to eat something. Not a minute later did I notice everyone staring in one direction. For a single heart stopping moment I thought it was me, but in truth they were staring at a couple behind me, the law abiding, pureblood-centric Warringtons.

"Ooh, what did they do?" Mari whispered to me, covering her mouth and practically owling to the entire room that she was talking about the couple.

I shrugged and continued to watch a prominent member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Mr. Wales, approach them. He whispered something to them, and Mrs. Warrington turned paper white. She looked like a throw back to Victorian times with all the fainting society women.

"Where's Warrington?" Mari asked, and I knew that she wasn't speaking of the couple with clenched jaws in front of us, but of their son, Conrad.

I rolled my eyes. "How should I know?"

"Ooh. Maybe he did something," she speculated, swirling her glass with a toothpick that certainly hadn't been there a minute ago. Soon the fascinating sight departed along with a poker-straight Mr. Wales. His robes looked like he had used an ironing charm repeatedly.

"Well, why don't we wait to find out?"

She pouted. "But that's no fun."

Mum waved at us emphatically to join her next to the Harpers. Leanna looked bored as ever, twirling her blond hair through her fingers. I accompanied Mari, trudging back over to our psychotic mother. I muttered again, "I really hate these things," and Mari laughed, playing the perfect society daughter as usual.

Life was pretty uneventful after the gala, not that I thought the gala was that interesting. I wrote to people, received letters, yelled at Mum, slept, and ate. Life was good.

And then I remembered the bucket load of homework my professors had assigned, and being my crazy anal self I immediately started work. I finished in about two days. Mari thought I was psychotic. She still hadn't started.

"Are you girls ready?" Mum yelled up the stairs. "The Flints could arrive any minute!"

And then we had a family dinner with the Flints. There was nothing wrong with Brie. In fact she was in the same house as me, but the other two... Well, I had to suppress a shiver just thinking about it. While I'd never seen either of them actually hex a person, Tara's sharp tongue was legendary and her gossip never failed to spread around in less than a day, and Griffin was a member of the infamous Slytherin Quartet. Not to mention they were both Slytherins. I couldn't stand the lot of them.

"I'm not coming!" Mari shouted back, slamming her door shut.

"Maya!"

"That was Mari!" I hollered back, smoothing my blue dress. Per my mother's instructions it fell no farther than my knees, quite the opposite in fact. It was my shortest dress and strapless.

I heard her sigh. "Get her to come down now!"

I myself sighed then, resigned to bridging the ever growing gap of mutual hatred between Gryffindors and Slytherins. walked over to Mari's room and knocked lightly on the door. "Hey, Mar, let me in."  
"I will not sit with them. They're all awful, horrible people."

I leaned against the doorframe, sure that this would be a long discussion. "Oh, come on. Brie's not that bad."

She huffed, and by the sound of her voice, I could tell she was just on the other side of the door. "But she has their blood." She paused. "It's all bad blood."

"Then we probably have some of it."

"What? Why?"

"Our own mother's not much better than them. Why do you think they're coming over?"

She opened the door a crack, so I could see her face. "That's a good point, but Mum means well. She just wants what's best for us."

"To marry rich and be popular. That's important." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, to each his own, right?"

I shrugged. "It's warped and archaic thinking."

She gave me a confused look. "Archaic?"

"Old."

"Oh. I knew that."

"Sure you did."

"I did!" she protested.

I smiled. "And since you think to each his own, why don't you indulge Mum her fantasies of riches and exclusivity and join us for dinner?"

Her brow furrowed. "Well, I suppose if you think of it that way..."

"You wouldn't leave me to suffer on my own, would you?"

A doorbell rang loudly, and Mum's face appeared at the top of the stairs a few meters away from where I stood in front of Mari's vividly red door. "You two had better be down here by the time that door opens, or there will be some severe consequences."

"Sure, Mum," I said. "Mari's just finishing up," but she had already disappeared down the stairs without waiting for a response. I turned to Mari. "So, in this together?"

She nodded, and slipped her arm through mine.

Rita Flint was the first through the door. Somehow despite being at least as old as my mother she didn't look a day over thirty. Mum claimed it was some sort of Indian magic that was illegal here, but honestly she probably just aged well. (and used something special). "Maya. Mari," she cried, beaming. She pulled us each into a hug. "It's so nice to see you."

I smiled back. "Yeah. How were your holidays in India?"

"Oh, they were grand. Thank you." She looked over her shoulder, noticing that the rest of her party had failed to make it past the entryway. "Liam," she said sternly, "now is not the time to be admiring the house's architectural merits.

Rita was an intelligent woman. There was no way she believed her husband to be admiring the "architectural merits" of our house. Like most purebloods he was too proud to enter our house. Perhaps things were different in India, since I was certain Rita was also pureblooded.

"Hi, Maya," Brie greeted me warmly. "Can't wait for the next season of quidditch. Do you know who the captain is?"

I smiled at her. "Actually, yes. It's Nick."

"Wow. No way. That's really cool. Hopefully I'll make the team this year." Her excitement was unnerving.

"I'm sorry Griffin isn't here. He should be arriving shortly. He's on a little getaway with some of his friends," Rita apologized profusely. Mari strained to stop herself from saying it was better that way, but thankfully she managed to get ahold of herself.

Twenty minutes into our three course dinner, courtesy of our two house elves, Griffin decided to grace us with his presence.

"Sorry, Mum," he said, sliding into the seat next to me. Mari mimed gagging from behind me. Thankfully no one else noticed. His dark hair looked windswept, but he placed his napkin on his lap and held his utensils with the grace of one raised to perfection. I hated him.

"So what did you two receive in terms of OWLS?" Rita asked, politely making conversation as usual.

"Well, Mari received eight E's out of her nine classes," Mum bragged, "and Maya, well, she's just a genius." The last bit was not said with much enthusiasm.

"I got nine O's," I said spitefully, glaring at my mother.

She frowned. "Now, now, dear. Let's not brag. No one will want to marry the girl who is smarter than them," she joked, but underneath I knew she was completely serious.

"Oh, I'm sure Griffin could handle that," Rita said jovially.

The next two courses were a nightmare. The only redeeming thing was the treacle tart, and even that seemed tasteless compared to the constant nonsense passing between my mother and Rita. Hardly anyone spoke other than them.

"See you at school, Maya, Mari." Griffin threw us his casual, glittering smile, and I just scowled in response. "Oh perk up, Maya."

And then they were thankfully gone.

"Why is there a goddamn muggle telephone in this house?" Mum screeched. I heard her pick it up and promptly drop it.

I jumped up from bed and ran down the stairs, although not two at a time since I would most likely trip and end up taking an unnecessary trip to St. Mungo's. "I'll get it!"

Somehow in her fight with the telephone, it was Mum who looked the worse for wear. "Here. Take it. I can't deal with this right now." She threw up her hands and walked to the kitchen to make herself some tea.

"Hello?"

"Maya!" It was Logan.

"Hey," I replied. "What's up?" I made my way back to my room.

"I'm surprised your parents haven't thrown this thing out yet," he commented, obviously skirting around the topic of his call.

I laughed. "Me too. My mum is going crazy though. Not that she wasn't before."

"Yeah. Well, my dad doesn't like the owls that much. Thank goodness you got a phone. It makes life so much easier."

"But didn't you owl me the other week about Diagon Alley?"

"Oh, yeah, but I was with my mum then. She obviously doesn't mind what with her own torrent of owls each morning."

I wondered why he was avoiding the reason he called. "So why did you call?"

"Oh, um, well..."

I rolled my eyes at the ceiling. "Spit it out already. I haven't got all day, you know."

He hesitated, and then very quickly said, "Nick and I are planning a party at his house. Will you help?"

I sighed and joked, "You two are trying to get me into trouble."

"No," he protested. "It's going to be an awesome end of summer bash."

"Bash?"

"Party. You're such a loser sometimes, you know?"

"Yes, I do thanks," I replied. "So this party... Who's invited?"

"All of sixth year, though I bet a bunch of fifth years will crash."

"Hmm. Alcohol?" I asked.

"Naturally."

The door of my room flew open, and Mari bounded in. "Did I hear someone say alcohol?"

"What? No. Go away," I said, pushing her off my bed, but she stayed firmly in place.

Logan's voice issued from the phone again, "You're not telling me you're against alcohol now, are you?"

"No. Of course not. Mari's being a pig. Hold on."

She tried to grab the phone from me. "Ooh. Are you using the teleyphone?"

"It's a telephone, and you're talking into the wrong end." I sighed. Why was I cursed with such a meddling sister? At least when we returned to school she'd be confined to meddling with Gryffindors for the most part.

"Oh." She flipped the phone the other way. "Hello?"

I didn't hear what Logan said on the other end, but Mari looked indignant. "Well, if that's so, never call this teleyphone again!"

I could just imagine Logan's peels of laughter at this. "Give it back, Mari."

She raised a finger. "Hold on." Then she continued, but not to me, "Oh, so this party. Hmm. Alcohol. Scandalous." She paused. "Well, if you insist. I suppose I can force my loser sister to grace you with her presence." She handed me back the phone. "You're welcome."

As she flounced from the room, I asked Logan, "What did she do?"

"Nothing," he said, concealing something.

"What?" I asked again.

"Fine. Nothing you wouldn't have consented to in the first place."

"Which is?"

"You're going to help with the party!" He sounded like such a girl.

"Fine. When should I show up?"

He pondered it for a moment. "Floo to Nick's around six. The party shouldn't start until eight. We can catch up as we set up."

"Fine. See you then." I hung up before he could rope me into anything else.

"So you see," I was saying to Abby. "You have to come to the party."

She made a face. "I don't see why. It's not like they want me there anyway."

"What are you talking about? Everyone likes you," I insisted semi-truthfully.

"But I don't want to go."

"But Abby," I whined.

We were in Diagon Alley, and even though Abby had already picked up all her school things the week before, I had dragged her down from the confines of her Warrington-invaded home to go shopping with me. I had just finished detailing the plans for the party and the reasons she should come, but she wouldn't hear of it.

"You never do anything fun," I complained.

She rolled her eyes. "I do plenty of fun things."

"Studying doesn't count."

Abby frowned. "I wasn't going to say that."

"So will you come?" I pestered.

She sighed. "No."

"It's not like you have anything better to do. You might as well," I persisted, dragging her into Flourish and Blotts. Maybe I could bribe her with a book.

Finally after painstaking efforts she picked the right book after going on and on about the muggle books in the shop her sister worked at. Honestly those muggles were awful. How could anyone fathom a game about children fighting to the death? It sounded like something Lord Voldemort would think up. I shivered at the thought, though I had never known his reign of terror.

"So you'll come to the party?" I asked once again, as we left the shop and winded our way to the apothecary.

She sighed. "Well, Conrad is being his usual jerkish self which is mostly why I agreed to come with you."

"Exactly. You can get away from him and party with me. It'll take your mind off of it."

She glared at me. "You know I don't drink, Maya."

"There's always a first time for everything," I assured her.

"When you're of age."

I shrugged. "To each his own, but promise you'll come to the party on Saturday?"

She made a gagging noise of disgust. "Fine, but only for an hour."

"Unless of course you want to stay longer," I added hopefully.

Her dark eyes revealed no amusement. "One hour."

I flooed to Nick's two hours before the party was planned to start, though most people wouldn't come until much later.

"There's my favorite girl." An arm fell around my shoulders as I spun onto the hearth, nearly losing my balance. The boy who caught me had tan skin and short dark brown hair. His white teeth sparkled as he helped me to my feet.

"Well, that was embarrassing," I said, blushing slightly and stepping out of Logan's arms. I looked to the taller boy next to him, dressed in muggle shorts and a Falmouth Falcons T-shirt.

"Hi, Nick." I gave him a quick hug. "So what's with this party?"

He grinned, "We wanted an excuse for drinking. That's about the extent of it."

"Of course you did," I said, rolling my eyes. "So what do you plan on actually setting up?"

Logan shrugged. "Not sure. Alcohol. Maybe a punch bowl."

I wondered where we could buy it. The closest place was the Leaky Cauldron, but one of our Professors lived there during the summer. "The Leaky won't sell to us though." I frowned. I had no idea.

"That's why we have the Hog's Head. The bartender there doesn't ask any questions, and he said he'd deliver," Nick said, crossing the room to look out the window, but there was only a dimly lit street. "He said he'd be here soon."

"Sounds good. You know, I've never actually been there."

"It's great to get a drink at when Rosmerta's in a bad mood," Logan informed me knowledgably.

Nick rolled his own eyes. "Since when is Rosmerta ever in a bad mood? She adores you," he said with mock jealousy. At least I thought it was mock jealousy.

Logan shrugged nonchalantly, and I said, "Everyone adores Logan."

"Oh, thanks." Nick raised his eyebrows.

"Everyone loves you too, Nick," I assured him.

There was an moment of semi-awkward silence before Logan stood, brushing off his pants. "Right, let's get to it." Then he headed down the carpeted stairs.

The second the back of Logan's head disappeared, Nick turned to me and gave me a knowing smile. "So what's up with you two?"

"What? Who two?" He didn't mean me and Jeremy. He couldn't know that I talked to him a lot this year.

"Never mind," he said, grinning smugly. "How was your summer?"

"Same old. Same old. Mum dragged us to some society gala a couple weeks ago, and Mari won't shut up about her boyfriend." I had to admit Xavier was definitely her best boyfriend by far.

"Is she coming tonight?" he asked curiously.

"Mari, pass up alcohol? I can't even imagine it. Yeah, she overheard me when Logan called."

"You have a phone?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I convinced Dad to buy me one to "test" out. I really only use it to call Logan when he's at his dad's."

"I never thought your mum would allow that kind of "Muggle crap" into her house."

"I know. I was surprised she allowed it, you know."

"Still being insufferable?"

"How could she not be?" I moaned.

"But she must have been proud of your marks. By the way, what'd you get?" he asked, running a hand along the wall.

"Are you kidding? I got nine O's, but she's still trying to marry me off. She thinks that I've lost all future proposals by receiving good marks."

He smirked. "I assume Mari's future will be perfect, then?"

I looked away and after a few seconds replied quietly, "Yeah. She's perfect alright."

Right at eight some people showed up, a boy and a girl. They looked slightly younger than us and both had brown colored hair. I'd never seen them before, but they introduced themselves as Mark and Jenna and seemed to know Nick already.

While Logan was finishing locking the Davies' room door, I chatted with Jenna. She was really sweet, though the fact that she couldn't see out of one eye was a little unsettling. There wasn't anything wrong with it of course, and as she told me about how she played Quidditch at her old school in Salem or some other American place, I was amazed at how she could do that. Flying alone took a lot of concentration, not to mention goal scoring with poor three dimensional vision.

People slowly came in and helped themselves to drinks. About half an hour in people really started showing up. Mari must have told a lot of her friends. She came in with her boyfriend, Xavier Louis, and I spotted a group of her Gryffindor friends in a corner, laughing about something or another.

I got to meet Nick's new girlfriend, though Logan said he was going to break up with her soon. I had to admit Chloe Hill, while ignorantly nice, was not very intriguing. She was very shallow. I didn't think there was much past her blond hair and blue eyes.

"Did you hear that Rachel Prince is dating Farley Corner?" she asked me, as if we were bosom friends. I had a feeling it had to do with the alcohol.

I shook my head, but I wasn't really interested in what the Slytherin prefect decided to do with her love life. "Really? Wow. I didn't even know they knew each other."

Chloe nodded, understanding, her blond curls bouncing. "I know. He's kind of stuck up though, isn't he?"

I shrugged. "A bit."

"Yeah. I've never really spoken to him. Just seen him around, you know?"

"Yeah." Then I spotted a familiar dark-haired head near the doorway, wearing my black dress. "Abby!" I dashed away from Chloe thankful for the excuse to leave her company. I wasn't sure I could stand pretending to be best friends a moment longer. "Do you want something to drink?" I asked, taking a sip from my own glass.

She shook her head. "I don't fancy being arrested, thanks."

Brianna Clearwater emerged through the door, unaccompanied. She greeted me. "I heard Davies got captain. Jeremy's going to be pissed."

"Well, he's Head Boy. He's got enough on his plate," I replied.

"True. True. I should go congratulate them. See you." She patted me on the shoulder before disappearing into the ever growing crowd.

I turned back to Abby. "What exactly am I doing here?" she asked grumpily.

I beamed. "Having fun!" I dragged her after me. Hopefully if I could get her to talk to a few people that she liked, or at least tolerated, she might stay longer.

A little while later I said to her, "Abby, you need to loosen up."

"I am loose," she replied, but her arms were crossed over her shoulders tightly.

I raised an eyebrow, but was distracted before I could prove to her just how wrong she was. A tall boy with brown hair approached us with a drink in hand. "Hi, Jeremy." I grinned, probably blushing slightly. Thank goodness Nick had made the lighting dim.

"Hi," he replied, smiling awkwardly.

"See, Abby. Jeremy won't get arrested." She rolled her eyes, continuing to cross her arms. "Abby, this is Jeremy. Jeremy this is Abby. Jeremy's Head Boy," I said, hoping to impress her.

"I know who he is," she replied, annoyed. "Congratulations."

His mouth twitched. "Thanks. So how has your summer been?"

I laughed. "Other than society galas to celebrate some bloke's promotion at the Ministry you mean?"

"Yes, other than that."

"Mari and I practiced Quidditch. My mum is mad. She took us to some other pureblood gathering, which is weird because we're not pureblood."

He laughed, showing his pearly white teeth. Yes, I could definitely see why Terra Finch fancied him. "Yeah, mine was mostly the same."

Just as we were having a pleasant, non-awkward conversation someone had to come barging in, someone with identical stature as me and pink streaks in her hair. "Hey, guys!" she wobbled slightly on her heels. "How's things?"

"Great," I replied dully. Jeremy shifted awkwardly, taking another deep swig from his glass, and Abby surveyed Mari's low cut dress with disdain. I had to admit that Mari would have done better to cover up, but she wasn't the type to react well to advice. If I suggested she wear something slightly more modest to the party, she probably would've appeared stark naked. Well, maybe not that extreme, but she would have done everything the opposite.

"Have any of you seen Xavier?" she asked, looking around hopefully. "He went to get drinks, but I haven't seen him since."

"Nope," I said.

"Louis?" Jeremy asked. "No." He paused, craning his neck over the crowd. "Isn't that him?"

Mari looked around. "Oh, no. That's just Finn."

Some seventh year sucked Jeremy into a conversation with her, making my blood boil for some inexplicable reason. Okay, maybe it was explainable, but I didn't want to think about it. I was sure Nick wouldn't approve of inter-team relationships anyway, and there was no way Jeremy wouldn't make the team, even if Nick didn't enjoy his company.

"Mari, why did you come over here?" I asked her angrily.

She gave me her innocent look. "What do you mean? I wanted to talk to you."

I sighed. "You ruin everything."

"What do you-?" She looked on the verge of tears, and then she took a deep breath, still glancing around. "Oh," she said, following my gaze to rest on Jeremy. "Oh, him. Aww, Maya, you have a crush."

"Shove off. Go snog your boyfriend," I said, pushing her away.

She shrugged. "Very well. I'll do it very publicly too, since I know you enjoy that so much."

"You hate PDA," Abby commented.

"I know. She likes to annoy everyone." I looked at Abby, who still looked bored and a bit out of place. The dress looked fantastic on her. For once you could see her legs and they didn't look half bad, but her stature and her facial expression clearly stated that she was bookish. You couldn't throw a nerdy girl into a party dress and expect her to transform, but I just wanted her to have a bit of fun and relax for once.

"Let's get more drinks," I suggested, taking her arm and leading her toward the stairs and around to the drinks table.

"You can get more drinks. I am perfectly content with remaining sober, thank you."

"Oh, get off your high horse, Lucas, and have some fun," and although I had been about to say similar words to her, they didn't issue from my mouth. Logan walked down the stairs, grinning from ear to ear.

"You look very pleased with yourself," I said, raising my eyebrows. "Who did you shag?"

He looked confused. "What? Why? No one."

"Okay. Then why are you so smug?"

He rested a hand on my shoulder as if to tell me something very serious. "Because I just planned the best party ever."

"You and Nick planned it," I corrected.

"Yup. Everyone will remember this forever," he said. "Or at least they'll remember something happened. I'm not sure Jessica will." He nodded to where Jessica sat, leaning against a wall and passed out on an unfamiliar boy's shoulder.

"Well, at least she's not sleeping with him."

Logan shrugged. "Why does it matter?"

"Self respect for one thing," I chided. "Just because you're a bloke doesn't mean you have to be insensitive."

"You mean I don't have to be a prick?"

"No, you don't," I assured him, taking another sip of firewhisky.

He made a sad face. "But it's so much fun."

"Oh, bugger off. You're just trying to pretend that you're not a sweetheart."

"I most certainly am not," he blustered indignantly. "I'm very badass. See. I threw this party."

"At your best friend's house," I added.

He waved the comment away, saying, "Details. Details."

"You're a prefect, you've never skipped class once, and all the teachers adore you," I continued.

"No, they don't. Once I set Vincent Mulciber's hair on fire in Defense."

"By accident."

He ignored me. "Professor Chambers was very upset."

"He was laughing the entire time, you dolt."

"Fine. Ruin my life, Maya. Why don't you?"

I patted his arm gently. "I'm sorry, Logan. From now on I'll indulge all your fantasies. I'll even let you try out for Quidditch and let you get hit by another three bludgers, if it'll make you happy."

He glared at me. I smiled back sweetly. "Hey, look at Nick being the perfect host." Logan nodded over to where the drinks were. "He's talking to Lucas."

I realized she hadn't been next to us the whole time and felt awful. This party was about her enjoying herself, not me ignoring her. "Um, Logan, I'm not sure what you're definition of perfect host is, but I don't think grabbing a guest's arm is falls under that category."

"Well, he's talking to her."

"Arguing now."

He turned my head with his hand. "Stop looking. They're looking this way." Nick approached us, having left Abby by the drinks and probably looking for his dull girlfriend. "The gala must have been really boring," Logan said.

"Yeah, it was. I was stuck with my crazy mum for hours and all the pureblood maniacs." Paule, the only female member of the infamous Slytherin quartet, glared at me, but continued her conversation with some Slytherin bloke.

Nick passed by us, and I smiled at him, debating about calling over to him. Then I saw a familiar head moving through the crowd toward the door. "Abby!" I called out to her and chased her down to meet her at the door. "Where are you going?"

"I'm leaving," she said somewhat angrily.

"Why? It hasn't been an hour yet."

"It's been fifty nine minutes," she replied, showing me her watch. Of course she had worn a watch with her dress. Like I said, some things could not be changed.

"But we were having so much fun," I tried, even though I knew it was a lie.

She sighed, brushing a stray hair behind her ear. She didn't seem angry anymore though. "No, Maya, you were having fun, and that's fine. You should have fun."

"You should have fun too."

"This just isn't my version of fun."

I gave her a smile smile. "I know."

"It's been an hour now."

"Bye."

The rest of the party passed in a blur. I probably drank too much, but not nearly as much as other people. I saw Logan performing several replenishing charms. Hopefully, no one cared about the Trace.

Around one the party was still in full tilt, but I had had my fill. I found Nick by himself, standing near the drinks and surveying the crowd. He looked just like Logan, pleased with his work.

"Hey. I think I'm taking off. It's getting pretty late."

"So early?" he quipped.

"It's one, Nick. Some of us are normal enough to not be completely sleepless in the morning, on top of being hung over." I yawned.

He grinned. "Sleep. So unnecessary. Are you taking that sister of yours with you?"

We both looked to where she was sitting on the floor somewhat tangled with her boyfriend. They weren't putting on a display though. She might have passed out from how much she had to drink, seeing the several bottles littered around the floor near her. Those easily could've been from other people though.

"I wouldn't trust her to floo by herself in that state, and Mum would have kittens if Mari slept over at her halfblood boyfriend's house." She would, but not because of the sleeping over but because Xavier wasn't as high up as she wanted her daughter to get. Honestly, there was more to life than marrying up.

He laughed, indulging my feeble attempt at humor. "Okay, well, see you on the train?"

"Of course." I smiled, giving him a quick hug. "See you."

"Bye."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the reads and the review! Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: Not JKR.

* * *

"Mari, if we're late because of you-" I began to threaten, but she appeared before I finished my sentence, which was lucky since I wasn't quite sure what I could do to her.

"Ugh, this is way too early to be awake." Her usually immaculate brown and pink hair stuck up in odd places. She clutched her head in her hands with a pained expression on her face.

I shoved her a bottle of hangover potion. "We have to wake up at seven for school."

"I don't."

"You really should eat breakfast. It's the most important meal of the day, I hear."

She groaned. "Why are you so freaking organized?"

"Because I think one of us should keep our bearings. You're welcome for taking you home."

I followed her into the bathroom. "Oh. That was you? Thanks."

"I decided Mum would be none too pleased if you slept over at Xavier's." I ran a brush through my hair again to make it perfect. Mari handed me eyeliner. I accepted it and began applying. "Oh, and speaking of Mum, she and Dad are driving us in about ten minutes."

"Are you kidding me?" She looked at the clock above the mirror. "It's only ten! Why do we need to be there so early?"

"Because some of us like to get there on time." I strode out of the room to check my trunk for a final time. When I was done, I called out, "Two minutes!"

Mari screamed in frustration. "Can you check my trunk for me?"

I went into her room to find clothes strewn across the floor. "How do you live?" I yelled back. I found her trunk, which only held the books for school. "You didn't even pack!"

"What? Yes, I did!"

"There are only books in here!"

She entered the room. "Isn't that packing?"

I gaped at her. "No, it's not. Idiot."

"Well, I still need to find clothes to wear."

And that was how I ended up packing her nearly all of Mari's stuff for her.

Arriving at King's Cross Station, I felt plain in comparison to the sparkles on Mari's crop top. She wore sheer black leggings underneath, leaving her stomach completely bare, though Mum didn't seem to notice. I chose a simple white skirt and a pink shirt.

"Look who it is," Mari whispered, pointing at a tall, thin boy ahead of us.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't like him," I lied. "I have no idea how you came up with that."

She merely raised an eyebrow and continued walking after our parents. I sighed and followed. Why did I have to have a sister who knew so much more than me about boys, but didn't want to help my failings?

"Maya, hurry up," Mum barked.

"Yeah, Maya, all the boys who gawk at you are getting impatient," Mari said.

"I wasn't aware any of those existed," I said.

Mum replied without really paying attention, "I'm sure there are, dear. Now, go through the wall with your sister. Your father and I will follow."

Dad gave me an encouraging smile, pushing me forward lightly.

After ten minutes of complete torture (Mum just had to talk to everyone she recognized), I escaped, walking briskly away from them and bumping into the tall boy from before. He caught me by my shoulders. "Are you okay?"

I smiled. "Yeah. Thanks."

"I didn't see you again at the party. Did you make it home okay?"

"Couldn't be better. Well, if it weren't for hangover potions, I probably would look a lot worse now," I replied.

Jeremy grinned back. "Yeah, I know. At least I can remember what happened. It's more than most can say."

"I know. It's the worst when you can't remember."

He shrugged. "At least you can't remember all the embarrassing stuff you did."

"But you don't know what embarrassing stuff you did."

"True. Hold on." He was looking past me. "Oi, Flint!" I turned to see Griffin glowering.

"The front of the train is the other way, mate," Jeremy said. I laughed. Not that I really knew much about being a prefect. That was Abby and Logan's field.

Speak of the devil. Logan came strolling over with Nick in his wake. "Hey, Maya."

"Hi, guys. You look like hell," I remarked. Nick was already wearing his Ravenclaw tie, but it was crooked and rumpled. His hair looked barely brushed. Logan appeared slightly better. As usual he was immaculately groomed, but his eyes were tired and every time the train whistled he clutched his head. "Maybe next year you should throw the party a day or two before we go back to school."

"Good idea," Logan said. "But can you try not shouting it?"

Jeremy smirked. "I'm sure you guys will come around sooner or later. Someone must have some hangover potion they can give you."

"I do!" Of course she had to butt in. Mari strutted over in her ridiculous heels, holding out the bottle I had given her this morning.

"Thanks," Logan said, grinning. He took a long swig before passing it to Nick who repeated the action. "I don't feel any better," he said.

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly, Logan. It's magic, not a miracle. It hasn't kicked in yet. Give it a few minutes."

"Stop talking so loudly," he moaned.

"You're so pathetic." I turned to Nick curiously. "You're being quiet."

He glanced up and met my eyes. "Wha-? Oh. Hi."

I smiled. "Well, someone had fun last night," Jeremy teased.

"Shut it." Nick gave Jeremy a stare that was clearly intended to kill. Too bad it wasn't working too well.

"Well, we have to go to that meeting. I am Head Boy, after all." He sounded so proud of himself. It was cute, as if never in a million years would he have predicted getting the honor of the position.

Logan sighed, still looking drained. "Yeah. We should. Maybe you can whisper when you're talking during the meeting?" he suggested.

Nick smirked. "Mate, you are seriously fucked."

Logan and Jeremy left without another word. He looked rather like a lost puppy. "You're the same way," I told Nick.

"You do look awful," Mari said. I glared at her. Didn't she have her own friends?

"We should probably go find a compartment," Nick said.

"Definitely." Anything to get away from Mari. Why did she always have to be so perfect?

She smiled without a care. "Bye!" She practically skipped off. How was she not hungover at all? She drank way more than I did.

"Where's she going?" Nick asked, looking as though he didn't understand her happiness either.

I shrugged. I didn't want to think about her anymore. "Probably to go make out with Xavier."

Nick said something about her, but I wasn't really paying attention. "She's fine," I replied. "So where should we go?"

"Maybe somewhere empty?" he suggested.

"Ha. Ha. You're so clever. No wonder you're in Ravenclaw."

He grinned. "What can I say? I'm a genius."

I raised my eyebrows. "Which is obviously why you're so hungover right now."

"Exactly."

I laughed and pulled him after me in search of a compartment.

Logan returned from the prefect's meeting a little more than an hour after the train starting moving.

"How was the meeting?" I asked him, inviting him to take the seat next to me.

He shrugged. "Not bad. Cook likes to talk a lot though."

"Not surprising," Jessica said from her window seat. Her curly blond hair was pinned back today. She looked so easily pretty. It wasn't fair.

"He's really nice though," I said.

Terra inserted herself into the conversation, as usual. "Eh," she said as if there were more things bad about him, "he's sort of cute."

"There's nothing wrong with Jeremy, guys." I turned to the only remaining person in the compartment sitting across from me. "What do you think, Aidan?"

He ran a hand through his hair, glancing from person to person. "Well, I don't think he's cute," he finally said, making the rest of us laugh.

A little while later Abby passed our compartment, looking lost. "Abby!" I waved her in.

She looked from me to Logan and said, "Told you that party was a bad idea."

Logan still looked exhausted. I had a feeling I didn't look too much better. I was wearing more makeup though. "I'm perfectly happy. Thanks," Logan replied.

"It was fun, Abby," I insisted. "You should've stayed. Logan may or may not have tried stripping."

A revolted look came across her face. "Which is exactly why I left." I had to stop myself from laughing at this.

"You definitely missed out," Logan agreed. He then leaned closer to me and whispered, "I did what?"

I laughed. I hadn't realized he didn't remember. "It's fine. I stopped you before you got to your pants."

Abby still looked dubious about the whole thing and even more so when Aidan said, "Wish I hadn't been in Spain. Sounds like it was fun."

"You didn't miss much." Abby was always such a ray of sunshine.

I was about to say something about the game of firewhiskey pong I'd won, but Terra leaned in across Logan and said, "Did you know that Malfoy broke up with Avery Nott on the platform earlier?"

"I hear she's pissed," Jessica added.

The look of scornful superiority on Abby's face grew more pronounced. "She should've known better than to go out with one of the Quartet. None of their relationships ever work." I was pretty sure Conrad Warrington was the only one who had ever been in a proper relationship.

Terra had the same thought. "Well, Warrington went out with Lynn Greengrass for a while."

"Yeah, and look how well that ended."

Jessica nodded, probably infuriating Terra. "She was devastated, Terra. Jeez."

Terra pursed her lips and sat up straighter. "Yeah. Well. Did you hear that Rachel Prince and Farley Corner are going out now?"

Chloe had told me at the party last night. I hoped Nick had broken up with her. "Yeah, I did. It's just weird. He's a git, but.. She's a Slytherin for crying out loud."

Logan looked bored and let out a loud fake yawn. "Well, girls," he said, patting my shoulder as he stood up, "it's been fun to hear all about the drama, but I think I'll go find Nick."

Aidan looked like someone confronted with a dementor before Logan added, "Come on, Aidan." He smiled and followed Logan out of the compartment.

Terra jumped into the latest gossip the moment they left, as if there hadn't been an interruption. "I can't believe you kissed Fitz Darvid last night, Jess. Wow."

"It was truth or dare, Terra. Jeez." It was a wonder they were best friends.

"You really shouldn't be kissing him," Abby remarked dryly. "You're not his type."

Jessica gave her a withering look. "And how would you know what his type is?

Abby shrugged. "It's fairly obvious." I wasn't quite sure how to handle this. They were such opposites. It was crazy for me to think they could get along, even for a minute.

"I'm sure you know everything, Abigail," Terra said, glowering.

"No one can know everything."

I decided to interject. "Well, I do."

"I'm sure you think you do," Abby said, and I wasn't sure if she was on my side or not. Maybe I'd just become another one on their side to her.

Thankfully at that moment, Kat Smith walked in, smiling cordially. "Hi, Abby."

"Kat." There was a sort of warning in her voice.

"I mean, Abigail."

Abby looked around awkwardly. "So, um... have you read any good books lately?"

Terra replied, "Well, Jess, I had a fun time rereading the Standard Book of Spells Grade Six yesterday. It's just so entertaining. I know it's sort of weird, but I-"

"Shut up, Terra," I said. She looked offended.

Kat, clearly hoping to brush over the offense said, "I finally looked up that muggle author you recommended. Her stuff is really good?"

"Which one did you read?" Terra sighed irritatedly and began discussing boys with Jessica.

"Um, Pride and Prejudice, I think it was called?"

"Oh that one?" I said. "Abby's been trying to get me to read that forever, but isn't it all ancient?"

Abby frowned. "It's a classic."

"A synonym for ancient."

Abby fell silent, so we were reduced to listening to Terra and Jessica's conversation. "Did you see Griffin Flint today? Fine."

"But he's a Slytherin," Jessica complained.

"At least he's not a Hufflepuff," Terra said darkly.

Abby with a slightly offended look on her face asked, "What's wrong with Hufflepuffs?"

Terra looked aghast, and I had no idea what to say. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Hufflepuffs, but the majority of them were just Gryffindors without backbones.

"Well, I think Finn Page is pretty cute," Kat said, again trying to keep the peace.

I jumped onto the topic. "Yeah, he's really nice. I think he's Mari's best friend." It was true. If she wasn't spending time with Xavier, it was spent with Page.

"Or Will Abercrombie," Kat said wistfully.

I grinned. "Thing for Gryffindors, Kat?" Terra sighed, irate. The center of attention wasn't around her, and she wasn't happy about it.

Suddenly the compartment door burst open, revealing Logan who nearly toppled into the compartment. Regaining himself, he said grandly, "Look who we found!" He dragged Nick in, and Aidan followed.

"Hey, everyone. Why was I summoned?" Nick asked, rearranging his tie.

"Abigail might try to murder us soon." Terra's tone was completely serious.

Abby looked around awkwardly, noticing as I did that there were too many people for the number of seats in the compartment. "I'd better go," she said to me.

Logan, always trying to be friendly, said, "So soon? You'll miss out on another party!" He was so accommodating. He didn't have a problem with the nerdy girl, like some people.

She dodged both Logan and Nick, Aidan squeezed himself out of the way for her already, and said, "I have to, er, go find a friend."

"Probably Eric Plume," Terra said in a mock whisper. "He might be weirder than her." Sometimes I just wanted to rip that girl's throat out.

"She's not that bad, Terra," Logan said. I smiled gratefully at him, and he winked back.

"Well, he is," Nick said. I joined in laughing. Despite all my toleration, I was no fan of Eric Plume. If he just acted slightly less like the rest of us were all bumbling idiots, he might have been okay.

"He scares me," Jessica admitted, running a hand through her hair, as if it were ever tangled. "I don't know why."

"Because he's creepy as hell," Terra said.

The discussion continued about who was creepiest, but I didn't pay much attention. I wanted Abby and the rest to get along, but it seemed like an impossible wish.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish I were J. K. Rowling.

* * *

I woke up early to take a shower. It felt good, and my hangover had vanished. When I arrived in the Great Hall, Abby was already eating and reading her copy of the Daily Prophet, a rare occurrence for her. She actually looked content, though a loud outburst from the Slytherin table caused her to scowl, unsurprisingly.

"Morning," I said, sitting down next to her just as Professor Weasley passed her her schedule. "Thanks, Professor," I said, when she gave me mine after looking over my OWL scores.

I took Abby's schedule from her and began reading it. We had the majority of the same classes together. "You're taking History of Magic?" I asked, aghast. "Ew. Why?"

"It's interesting," she insisted.

I shrugged, pouring myself a glass of orange juice. "Whatever floats your boat. I think Nick's still taking that."

"Really?" She looked both surprised and offended at the same time.

"Yeah. He is. I don't know why. Muggle Studies or something is just as easy. That's what I'm taking after all."

She stood. "I'll see you in class." Of course she wanted to be early. I saw Eric Plume chase after her. Odd. I still didn't understand why he didn't hate her like he did the rest of the world.

Nick and Logan had snagged their schedules from Professor Weasley on their way over and sat across from me. I raised my eyebrows at Nick. "Do you ever wash your clothes?" He glanced down and smoothed his shirt and tie, giving me a fake glare.

Logan took my schedule to compare. "Did you hear? Nick's got a new girlfriend."

Didn't he just break up with Chloe? "You're not actually dating Adelaide Lupin," I said, hoping to Merlin that he wasn't.

Nick made a disgusted face. "Ew. Why?"

"You did sleep with her, mate," Logan pointed out. He handed back my schedule. "We're basically the same, but why are you still taking Muggle Studies?"

"It's interesting," I said defensively, sounding exactly like Abby a few minutes before.

"She didn't come from Muggles, mate," Nick pointed out. "Remember? Her mother's the wacko."

I nodded. "Completely nuts."

"Nuttier than a fruitcake," Logan said. Nick and I both stared at him. "What?"

"I swear, you get weirder every year, mate," Nick said, taking a swig from a goblet that definitely wasn't filled with pumpkin juice.

"My gran says it."

"Exactly why you shouldn't be," Nick said, standing. "We'd best be off to Defense."

First thing Wednesday morning I had a free period. I'd been hoping to get some extra sleep, but the other girls were noisy. At least Terra and Jessica were.

"Maya!" Mari appeared out of nowhere, snatching my wrist.

"Hi," I said, turning toward her. "What's up?"

She smiled. "Nothing. Just wanted to see how everything's going with you."

"You're in half my classes."

She waved the fact away, and I wondered if something was going on. "What's with you and Davies?"

"Still nothing. You're crazy."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"We're so immature," I muttered.

"Am not," she repeated in a sing-song voice.

"So what do you want?" I asked. I was hungry.

She shrugged. "Do you like Logan King?"

I sighed. "Just leave me alone, Mari."

"No. No. There's a reason. It's just that this guy, may or may not have a tiny crush on you, and I need you go on a date with him. He's Rose's friend, but since I know you... Anyway, will you?"

"And you think I don't have anything better to do?"

She tilted her head, pretending to think. "Basically yes."

I sighed. "Maybe. Who is it?"

"Joe? Joey? Joseph? No idea. Some bloke."

I didn't know why I was disappointed. I knew she didn't talk to Cook, and Rose Williams certainly didn't. "Well, when you have a time, a place, and a person, I'll give you my answer."

"Ugh, fine." She kissed me on the cheek (gag), and practically skipped off.

I had breakfast with Aidan, but he had to hurry off to Ancient Runes. Terra and Jessica skipped off to Care of Magical Creatures not long after, and I found myself alone. I finished breakfast and made my way to the Entrance Hall where a blazing row was in progress. Some fourth year girl that Nick dated last year out of pity was screeching at him. I didn't feel too bad for her anymore. Honestly, it was stupid for anyone interested in Nick to expect a long and fruitful relationship. I think his longest was two months. Maybe three with that one blond girl who graduated last year.

He finally yelled, "Fuck you," at her and made his way up the marble staircase. I chased after him, since he didn't seem to have noticed me as the only remaining onlooker.

"Wait, Nick!" I called after him. He turned. "Are you okay?"

He glared at me, "Fine. Go away," and hurried off. I didn't pursue. Instead I returned to my dormitory to work on the Charms essay due Thursday.

Finally the weekend came, and I was able to relax. Even though we didn't have any huge exams at the end of this year, the teachers still kept our noses to the grindstone almost as if they took pleasure in our pain. I was sure there was some Muggle song we listened to in Muggle Studies that sang about tolerance and not taking pleasure in other people's pain. At least they knew how to be kind.

I was up late on Sunday trying to finish the Defense reading that I'd put off all weekend. It wasn't my fault that Logan wanted to sunbathe without studying and that I agreed.

"Put off your Defense homework?" a voice behind me asked. I looked around to see Jeremy.

I smiled wearily. "Yeah. Not my best choice."

"Chambers may be good-looking and young, but he's rather tough."

"I know," I moaned. "He might be the hardest. Actually scratch that, Professor Vanity is the hardest. She's such a-"

"Bitch?"

I grinned. "Exactly."

"Yeah, if I wasn't going into the Ministry, I would've dropped the class last year. Potions is a waste of time."

I nodded. "Yeah, but it's important for a couple jobs."

"Auror. Healer." He held up two fingers. "Look, I can name them on one hand."

"What a clever boy you are, Mr. Cook."

"Why thank you, Miss Wood." He did a mock bow from his seat.

I scratched out a word in my notes. "So ready for tryouts tomorrow?"

"Are we actually trying out?"

"I don't think so. I'm not sure. Nick's a bit vague."

"He's probably too busy with his many girlfriends," he said, picking up a spare quill. The common room had just emptied, as Laura Hall walked up the staircase to bed.

I shook my head. "No, that's not it."

"He's on his third girl in a week. I'm-"

"It's not his fault," I insisted, though I wasn't sure I believed it.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he's complaining so much about it. I bet that you're the only girl who actually likes him since he hasn't dated you."

"And he's not going to."

"Why not?" he asked hesitantly.

His tact was awful. I'd often wondered why Nick never had any interest in me, but I didn't mind. I wasn't some toy for him to throw aside. "Because we're friends. That's all we've ever been, and that's all we ever will be."

He smiled at that. "So explain what you're learning in Defense to me."

I woke up ten minutes later than usual the next morning. I'd stayed up far too late, but I still managed to be pleasant. At least I thought I was.

"Morning, Abby," I greeted her. She was already awake and reading. Honestly, how she had time to do everything she did never failed to amaze me.

"Hi."

"So what are you doing tonight?" I asked, hoping she would come to quidditch tryouts. She really needed to get out more.

Without glancing up she replied, "Alchemy homework."

"So, nothing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Homework is something."

"But really not." She ignored me. "Anyway, will you please come to tryouts tonight?"

"They're tonight? Merlin, you guys don't waste any time, do you?"

I grinned. "Nope. We need to get training as soon as possible. Plus Nick's a bit mad."

"You're all mad," she said. "Why would you willingly put yourself in so much danger?"

I smiled. "Because it's fun."

"Fun?" She gaped at me, as if the words coming out of my mouth were gobldygook. "You call being hundreds of feet up in the air and being chased around by a bunch of psycho jerks and big balls of rock fun?"

"Yes, I do."

"You're mad."

"Just come please." I could use the sanity. Honestly some of those trying out were mad, not to mention Nick.

She sighed. "Are you going to leave me alone if I say yes?"

"Do I ever?"

"Fine."

"Well, I guess I could try, if you like. You just have to come," I said.

She sighed yet again. "I'll be there."

The rest of the day I was exhausted. Mondays I didn't have a free period, so I didn't have any extra time to sleep.

"Wake up." Someone, Logan, was poking me. I lifted my head. I'd fallen asleep while reading the chapter for Charms. "We're going to be late. Nick will kill us."

"What? Oh. Yeah." I stood, slinging my bag over the back of the chair.

"I got your broom for you," Logan said, handing it out toward me.

"How'd you manage that?" I asked, as we walked through the portrait hole.

He grinned happily. "I'm a man of many mysteries."

I rolled my eyes, but pressed on, "No, really. How?"

"It's a secret."

"Tell me."

"Then, it wouldn't be a secret."

"Fine."

A few minutes later, I asked, "You asked Kat to get it from the room, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

I laughed. "Thanks anyway."

We arrived at the pitch with just enough time to change into proper robes. "Where have you been?" Nick demanded when we emerged from the locker rooms.

"Maya took a nap," Logan answered.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Of course. Well, we'd better get started then. Go over there Logan. We're having a team huddle."

I walked over to him and the rest of the team. "Alright. Let's get this established straight off: I know that you're not used to me as a captain, but you're going to deal with it. Anyone got a problem with that?"

"Of course not," I said.

Jeremy looked a bit annoyed, but he only muttered to himself.

"Right then. We need two beaters and a chaser. Let's deal with the easy part first." He then yelled so the others could hear, "We're getting started with the beaters!"

He had the applicants fly around the stadium in groups by year, which honestly didn't make much sense because there were only about 20 kids trying out.

After I'd searched the stands for Abby and come up with only Terra, Jessica, and Kat from our year, I noticed a young girl hanging back. "Who's that girl over there?" I asked Nick. "She looks really young. Oh, Merlin. Is that Brie Flint? She said she was going to tryout."

"So why isn't she?" Nick asked impatiently.

"She's only a third year, and you didn't call them." I looked around. "I think she's the only one below fourth year here."

He stood up a bit straighter. "Then we should try her out right now." He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Flint!" He turned to me a bit nervously. "That's her name, right?"

I nodded, but Brie had already come skipping over.

As Nick ran the rest of the beater tryouts, I slipped over to where Logan was hovering nervously holding his broom. I didn't really understand how the other positions worked. "Hey," I said.

"They're pretty good," Logan said, rubbing his palms around the end of his broom handle.

"Eh. Could be better."

"Well, they're lucky I'm not trying out for beater."

I laughed. "Yes, you'd wipe the board with them, wouldn't you?"

"Of course. These chasers won't know what's hit them."

Five minutes after the sixth year chasers took off around the pitch, it was Logan who didn't know what hit him. Somehow he bumped into another player and spiralled into a post and then to the ground. I rushed over to him. Blotches of red spread across his blue and silver robes.

"Are you okay?" I turned him over. "Oh my Merlin. There's so much blood." Nick stormed over, and towered over the proceedings.

"I'm fine," Logan mumbled, dazedly.

"You sure as hell don't look fine." He glanced around, as if a healer were onsite. "He could have a concussion too."

"It's just my arm. I can still play." He lifted the side that was drenched in blood, but winced and leaned back into the grass. I knelt next to him and pulled back the torn robes. The arm was broken in two places and a long gash from the wooden stands ran along his side.

"You're a fucking idiot," I said.

"Well, go on Maya. Hospital wing," Nick said, gesturing back to the castle.

I groaned, "Can't someone else take him?"

"Of course not, and they'd be rubbish compared to you," he said in a sickly sweet tone.

I glowered at him, doing my best to make him aware that I was mentally disemboweling him. "Fine. Fine." I lifted Logan up. "Let's go, quidditch star."

"Hey, I'm offended."

"That's nice. I distinctly remember advising you not to tryout because something similar happened last year."

"That bludger came out of nowhere," he insisted, putting his left arm around my waist for support.

I laughed. "Just like Aidan just suddenly apparated in front of you today?"

"Don't be stupid, Maya. Everyone knows you can't apparate inside of the Hogwarts grounds."

"I'm sorry. You're the one talking about randomly appearing flying objects."

He huffed and fell silent. When we were almost at the Entrance Hall, he said, "So what are you going to tell Mari about going on that date with what's-his-name?"

I shrugged. "No idea. I still don't even know who the bloke is."

"Well, it can't hurt if you don't like anyone else," he said.

"Unless it's a Slytherin."

"You're saying you aren't dying to go out with Eddie Harper?" Logan teased.

I snorted. "Eddie Harper is a scrawny gossiping git. I doubt anyone in his own house would be interested in him."

"So what do you think you'll say if it's someone decent."

"I don't know. I sort of like someone else, and I know it's not him who needs a date. He's got plenty on his plate."

Logan frowned. "Who is it?"

I blushed. I didn't usually talk to Nick and Logan about who I liked. Mari always tried to wheedle it out of me, and Abby just didn't care. Terra and Jessica were always vaguely interested, but I didn't trust them to not spread it around the school within a day. So it was unsurprising that I talked to Logan about it the most. "Well, he's, um." I didn't know why it was so awkward this time, but I didn't want to tell him.

"Oh, come on. You can tell me, Maya. You usually do," he wheedled.

"Yeah, but it's different."

"How so?"

I hesitated. "I think Nick hates him."

"Who?"

I said it very fast, "Jeremy Cook."

"No way," he said, as we reached the doors to the Hospital Wing. "You're kidding."

"He's really nice and smart."

"So am I, and you don't like me."

I rolled my eyes. "You're my best friend, Logan."

He opened his mouth to continue, but was cut off by Madam Figg bustling over. "What do we have here? Broken arm. My, my. This looks painful." She muttered an incantation and flicked her wand in the direction of his arm. "Now that fixes the bone, and just a bit of Ditany will solve the scratch."

"Scratch?" Logan said. "My arm's ripped open."

"Don't be so dramatic, Mr-" she paused expectantly, but Logan didn't seem to notice.

"King," I supplied.

She nodded. "Yes, Mr. King. You're going to be perfectly fine. Sit on this bed here. Miss Wood please wait with him. Make sure he doesn't move, or he could hurt himself again."

"She thinks you tripped down the stairs again," I said, grinning.

"That was only once."

"You were fifteen. Only first years do that."

"Fine. Fine. You'd think she'd know my name by now, though," he said.

I nodded. "Yeah, you would, but she doesn't have the best memory for names."

"But, she knows yours."

"Probably from all the times I've brought you and Nick here. Bloody idiots the pair of you," I muttered the last part.

"Hey, I take pride in my idiocy."

"It's a wonder anyone talks to you," I added.

"Hey!"

Madam Figg returned at that moment. "Here's the Ditany." She applied it to the open wound and sealed the cap of the bottle. "Now, sit here for twenty minutes. Miss Wood, you'd better stay to make sure he doesn't move. I have to check on another patient." I looked up to see another bed at the end with the curtains drawn around it. I wondered who else had landed himself in here.

"What do you see in him?" he asked five minutes later.

"Who? Nick? Nick's fine. What are you talking about?" I asked him, confused.

He shook his head. "Cook. Jeremy Cook. The psychotic one. Head Boy and keeper."

"I know who you're talking about," I said exasperatedly.

"So?"

I sighed. "Do we really need to have this conversation?"

"Yes."

"You're impossible."

"And you're avoiding the subject," he pointed out.

I sat on the bed next to him. "Logan, I love you, and you're one of my best friends, but can we please not talk about it? It's not a big deal. I like him, but it's not likely anything's going to happen."

"But-"

"Let's talk about something else."

"Fine."

We fell silent. "Soooo," he said, drawing out the word.

"Sooo," I repeated.

"What do you think of Nick and Jessica?" he asked. "We haven't really gotten to talk about that."

I sighed again. "Oh, Merlin. A lot of confusion, I guess."

"Do you even know why they're going out?"

I shrugged. "He just broke up with Chloe, and now he's with her. I thought she didn't date. She likes to have no strings attached to sleeping around, but now, she's stuck with one guy."

"Nick's probably pleased."

"How did it even happen?"

"No idea. He won't tell me. You should ask."

I raised my eyebrows. "Why? You think he's going to tell me that he was bored and wanted another girl to shag?"

"I think there's more to it than that," Logan said reasonably.

"I'm not sure there is. Nick's great, but he's a bloke."

"So you think we're all sex-driven idiots?"

I grinned and joked, "Basically."

He shoved me with his good arm. Madam Figg emerged from the curtains and said, "You may go now. Have fun!"

"With what?" I muttered.

"Best not ask," Logan replied. "She probably thinks we're all hormonal and sex-crazed like you do."

"I do not," I protested.

"Really, Maya? Really?"

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, stop being so weird."

"I thought you looved me," he said.

"You're so weird. Why do I even talk to you?"

He made a swooning face. "Because you loove me."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's why." As we climbed up another staircase, I kept a close eye on him. I didn't trust him not to fall down another staircase.

We joked the rest of the way to the tower. I was thankful that he'd gotten over the Jeremy Cook thing. It wasn't that bad. I knew Jeremy was a bit controlling because he was a perfectionist, but honestly it wasn't that bad.

I bid Logan goodnight. Both of us were pretty tired. He smiled at me, and each of us walked up our respective staircases. Only the light above Abby's bed was on when I entered the dormitory. I'd seen Terra and Jessica downstairs just moments before, so I wasn't surprised.

Abby was glaring at one of the posts of her four-poster, and I remembered her promise. "Hey, why didn't you come?" I asked, sitting on my bed next to hers. "You promised you would be there."

"Come where?"

"Quidditch. Tryouts. Today," I said, sounding out every syllable.

She shrugged, trying to sound flippant. "Oh, I had stuff."

There was something going on there, but at the moment I didn't have the energy or interest to wonder or care. "Like what? Homework?" I asked scathingly. I didn't have to deal with this.

"That's none of your business. I don't have to tell you everything I do," she retorted.

"You didn't come," I reminded her barely containing my anger. I had no idea why I was so angry, but she never did anything for me. I always tried to include her in everything, and she was so ungrateful- "You said you would, so yeah, it's sort of my business."

"Well, you can bet it was a lot more important than your quidditch tryouts."

I spluttered. I didn't know how to respond to it. Plenty of things were more important than quidditch. Most of them weren't more important than friends. "More important?"

"You heard what I said."

"Whatever it was that you went off to do I'm sure it was way more important than your only friend."

She looked like she was about to smile vindictively at me, but seemed to think better of it. "I don't have friends."

Abby had been one of my best friends since the second year when Terra and Jessica became attached at the hip and Kat was always with Richard. She was the only girl in the dormitory that I could talk to, and we found that we had a lot in common. I'd always made time for her, putting off Nick and Logan to spend time with her doing the most boring of tasks, and she never did anything for me. I tried to include her in everything. The best she'd ever done was come to that party for an hour and offend as many people as she could.

"Fine," I replied, turning away.

"Fine," she echoed more firmly and pulled the hangings around her bed shut forcefully.

I fumed in silence until Terra and Jessica came into the room and I struck up a conversation about the sexiest boys with them. I heard Abby slam a book shut.


End file.
